KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday ordered status quo until Tuesday with respect to the nomination of directors to the SNDP Yogam.
A division bench issued the order on appeals filed by Vellappally Natesan and his son Thushar Vellappally, challenging a single judge’s order that disqualified them from serving as general secretary and vice-president, respectively, of the SNDP Yogam. The bench noted that the government has not yet compiled a list of candidates for the nomination of new directors.
Though the petitioners’ counsel sought a stay on the single judge’s order, the division bench declined the request and adjourned the case to Monday.
During the hearing, counsel for the appellants submitted that the single judge had directed the state government to take steps to appoint the required number of directors to hold office until fresh directors are elected at a general meeting. They argued that a stay was necessary to restrain the government from proceeding with the nomination.
The government pleader, however, informed the court that as per the memorandum of association, the quorum for the board is either 20 or one-fifth of the total number of directors, whichever is higher.
At present, around 170 directors stand disqualified, and one-fifth of that would require at least 34 directors to form a quorum. Hence, appointing the required number of directors cannot be done immediately.
When the matter was taken up, the appellants’ counsel pointed out the urgency, citing the direction to the state government to nominate directors. Taking note of the submissions, the bench orally observed that there was no immediate possibility of nominations being made. “We will keep it on Monday.
As of now, there is no nomination done,” the bench remarked. The court directed that status quo be maintained till Tuesday or until further orders. This effectively restrains the state government from proceeding with the nomination of directors as directed by the single judge.
The interim order recorded that, as of now, the government has not nominated any directors pursuant to the impugned order, and the matter will be listed on Monday along with all connected cases.